Washington Nationals

Looking to get a head start on negotiations before the offseason, the Washington Nationals and Anthony Rendon have begun talking about a contract extension. 

Per Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports, Rendon's agent, Scott Boras, and Nationals owner Ted Lerner met during Saturday's game against the Kansas City Royals to discuss a new deal for the All-Star third baseman. 

The Nationals appear intent on securing Rendon before he is eligible to become a free agent after this season. General manager Mike Rizzo told 106.7 The Fan in May they were "aggressively" pursuing an extension with the 29-year-old. 

Around the same time, Grant Paulsen of 106.7 The Fan reported Boras had said the Nationals "missed the boat on getting a deal done" with Rendon. 

Paulsen added Washington would be hesitant to give Rendon a deal in the same range as the eight-year, $260 million pact Nolan Arenado got from the Colorado Rockies in February. 

Rendon has already announced he will skip the 2019 All-Star Game to rest his hamstring and quad injuries. He's been able to play through them leading up to the Midsummer Classic, going 1-for-3 with one RBI in Saturday's win over the Royals. 

When Rendon is healthy, he's one of the most productive hitters in the big leagues. The Texas native is hitting .304/.389/.615 with 20 homers and 60 RBI in 73 games this season. He's missed at least 15 games in each of the past two seasons and sat out 82 games in 2015 with knee and oblique injuries. 

Washington Nationals starting pitcher Patrick Corbin will wear a No. 45 jersey for Tuesday night's game against the Miami Marlins as a tribute to Tyler Skaggs. 

Police in Southlake, Texas, announced Monday that Skaggs was found unresponsive in his room at the Hilton Hotel. The Los Angeles Angels pitcher was "pronounced deceased at the scene." Authorities don't suspect foul play, but an investigation into Skaggs' death remains ongoing.

Skaggs and Corbin were friends and played together with the Arizona Diamondbacks. They were also both selected by the Angels in the 2009 draft and were packaged together in a trade to Arizona midway through the 2010 season.

Nationals manager Dave Martinez discussed the two players' friendship.

"They came up together," he told reporters. "His best friend. He was emotional earlier, but he wants to pitch. He feels that’s what he needs to do."

Skaggs and Corbin were teammates until Arizona traded Skaggs to the Angels in December 2013.

Martinez called Skaggs' death "a tough, tough ordeal, regardless of teams we play on."

The Washington Nationals released reliever Trevor Rosenthal on Sunday after signing him to a one-year, $7 million contract last offseason. 

But Rosenthal, 29, has been a disaster this season, going 0-1 with a 22.74 ERA, 3.63 WHIP and five strikeouts in 12 appearances (6.1 innings). 

Without piling on Rosenthal too much, he was historically bad in his 12 appearances this year:

In Rosenthal's defense, he returned to action after missing the entire 2018 campaign following Tommy John surgery in August 2017. He spent his first six seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals and was excellent for the team, at times serving as its closer and finishing his time there with an 11-24 record and a 2.99 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 121 saves and 435 strikeouts in 325 innings. 

The hope for the Nationals was that Rosenthal would return to his pre-injury form and help bolster a bullpen in desperate need of an upgrade. Instead, he struggled and spent time on the injured list with a viral infection. 

So Washington cut its losses on Sunday.

It's possible that Rosenthal will get nibbles from other teams hoping he can round back into form in the minors. But for a Washington team that gave up a solid chunk of change to sign him, Sunday was the culmination of a disappointing stint.

Washington Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer plans to start against the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday after suffering a broken nose Tuesday.

According to Brittany Ghiroli of The Athletic, Scherzer has a black eye, but he told manager Dennis Martinez on Tuesday night, "Expect me to pitch." Scherzer is slated to start the second game of a day-night doubleheader, with Patrick Corbin getting the start for Washington in the opener.

Scherzer suffered the injury Tuesday during batting practice when he bunted the ball into his face:

The veteran righty was diagnosed with a broken nose, but his CT scan came back negative, per ESPN.com.

Scherzer, 34, is enjoying another strong season as the Nats' ace with a 5-5 record, 2.81 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 136 strikeouts in 99.1 innings. He also boasts the best FIP in Major League Baseball at 2.26, according to Baseball Reference.

Entering this season, Scherzer had finished fifth or better in the Cy Young voting in six consecutive campaigns, including second or better in each of the past three. Scherzer also has three National League Cy Young awards to his credit.

Scherzer is well on his way to another strong finish in the Cy Young voting, but it hasn't led to strong results for the Nats as a whole. Washington is fourth in the NL East at 33-38, and it trails the first-place Atlanta Braves by 8.5 games.

Washington is six games behind the second-place Phillies, which makes Wednesday's doubleheader a key set of games for the Nationals if they want to get back in the playoff picture.

Scherzer has been the subject of trade rumors due to Washington's struggles, but Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo told The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal that he would only consider moving Scherzer in a "franchise-altering" deal.

For now, Scherzer dealing every fifth day represents the Nats' best chance to return to contention in the immediate future.

Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer suffered a nose injury during batting practice prior to Tuesday's game against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Per The Athletic's Brittany Ghiroli, Scherzer suffered a broken nose and his status for Wednesday's start is to be determined. Per Mark Zuckerman of MASN, Scherzer was hit in the face by a ball he bunted during batting practice 

Losing Scherzer for a significant amount of time would be a monumental setback for the Nationals, who have been a disappointment with a 33-38 record. 

The 34-year-old has been durable throughout his career, starting at least 30 games every year except when he was a rookie in 2008. He won the National League Cy Young in the 2017 campaign with a head-turning 2.51 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 268 strikeouts in 200.2 innings and finished second in the Cy Young vote in 2018 with a 2.53 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 300 strikeouts in 220.2 innings

He's having another excellent run in 2019 with a 2.81 ERA and leads the National League with 136 strikeouts. 

Scherzer is a three-time Cy Young winner and six-time All-Star and serves as the anchor of Washington's staff, but there is enough talented depth to keep the Nationals pitching staff afloat if he has to miss time. 

The one-two punch of Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin would look great in any rotation. Erick Fedde and Anibal Sanchez provide depth to fill out the back end of the group. 

BR Video

The Washington Nationals got off to a slow start, but they are surging now. The Nats are led by the duo of aces Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg, and the team has benefited from a couple of clutch walk-off home runs this season.

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The Washington Nationals made history in Sunday's game against the San Diego Padres with an impressive power display in the eighth inning.

Howie Kendrick, Trea Turner, Adam Eaton and Anthony Rendon combined for four straight home runs for the Nationals, all against Padres pitcher Craig Stammen:

ESPN Stats & Info noted why this was such a unique event:

Washington entered the inning tied 1-1 but pulled away for what became a 5-2 win.

Per Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports, this feat has only happened nine times in major league history.

The Nationals were also the last team to hit back-to-back-to-back-to-back homers in 2017, although that was part of an even more impressive run.

In that game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Washington had five home runs in a span of six batters against pitcher Michael Blazek. Brian Goodwin, Wilmer Difo, Bryce Harper and Ryan Zimmerman hit four in a row out of the park before Rendon got in on the fun two batters later.

This could be a good sign for the Nationals, who won 97 games and the National League East in 2017. The 2019 squad hasn't been quite as impressive, compiling a 30-35 record after Sunday's win.

Washington only ranked 18th in the majors in home runs entering the day.

The slugfest on the road Sunday could get the team back on track as it tries to keep pace in the NL East.

The Washington Nationals' Youth Baseball Academy had a special guest stop by Wednesday. 

Former President Barack Obama made an appearance to display his sweet swing from the left side of the plate and also show off his range with the pigskin:

The Nats' baseball academy, located in Washington, D.C., "[uses] the sports of baseball and softball as vehicles to foster positive character development, academic achievement and improved health among youth from underserved communities," according to the organization's website.

At 19-30, the Nationals sit fourth in the National League East, and they're 21st in weighted on-base average (.309), per FanGraphs. Maybe they should consider giving Obama a tryout to inspire their underperforming offense.

In need of a quick fix to turn their season around, the Washington Nationals are close to getting Trea Turner back in the lineup.

Per MASN Sports' Mark Zuckerman, Turner will begin a rehab assignment on Tuesday with Washington's Single-A affiliate in Potomac, Maryland. 

Turner appeared in the Nationals' first four games this season before breaking his right index finger on April 2 against the Philadelphia Phillies. He was hit in the hand on a bunt attempt when a pitch from Zach Eflin came high and inside. 

Despite the limited sample size, Turner was off to a red-hot start in 2019 with a .357/.400/.857 slash line and eight extra-base hits in just 14 at-bats. 

Last season was Turner's first injury-free year in the big leagues. The 25-year-old appeared in all 162 games, setting a career high with 19 homers and leading the National League with 43 stolen bases. 

Wilmer Difo has been filling in for Turner at shortstop over the past six weeks. He's hit just .239/.301/.310 in 36 games. 

The Nationals own the NL's second-worst record at 16-24 entering play Tuesday. Only the Miami Marlins (10-29) have been worse to this point in the season.

The Washington Nationals placed left fielder Juan Soto on the 10-day injured list Saturday because of back spasms, according to The Athletic's Brittany Ghiroli.

The move is retroactive to Wednesday. The team recalled outfielder Andrew Stevenson in a corresponding roster move.

Soto made an instant splash as a 19-year-old rookie when he was called up during the 2018 campaign, drilling home runs and hitting at a head-turning rate out of the gate. In all, he slashed .292/.406/.517 with 22 home runs and 70 RBI in his rookie campaign after playing his way into the team's rotation.

According to Eddie Matz of ESPN.com, Soto had a mere 31 at-bats above the Class A level prior to his major league debut, making his immediate success all the more impressive.

It set the stage for a true breakout effort in 2019, and he is hitting .248/.368/.467 with six home runs, five doubles and 22 RBI in 28 games thus far in his second season.

While the youngster has a bright future, the Nationals can at least take solace following this setback knowing they have succeeded without the rookie in the recent past. Washington has won the National League East in four of the last seven years and has the pitching to remain afloat while Soto is sidelined.

However, the lineup has been depleted by injuries early on this season, as Grant Paulsen of 106.7 The Fan pointed out:

Victor Robles and Adam Eaton are capable of playing left field, although that could open a spot in center or right. Stevenson can also fill in across the outfield where needed.